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If Abmas IS for sure coming back, and you have a 2nd-year freshman in Phipps who's a very similar type of guard, would Paul Mills even think of throwing a guy into the mix like Thompson right now, when he obviously has his eyes set on the NBA and would expect to be handed the keys to the kingdom at li'l ol' ORU? Call me crazy, but would it be worth the potential disruption in the backcourt for this coming season?

I really should be charging for this kind of premium content...

How would Phipps compare to Jürgens as freshman? If Phipps can buy in and make the jump that Carlos did (no easy task) then he could be a big contributor.

He’s a bit of a shoot-first-play-defense-later guy. We used to call them a “gunner”. He’s not the creator that RJ was, partly because RJ was a much more experienced player and more athletic. If Phipps can enter the game for Thompson or Jurgens off the bench, log 20 or so minutes a game, help bring the ball up, hit 2-to-4 threes a game from the corner or the offside as a third scoring option from Max and Kevin, get to the free throw line on occasion off the drive, and play some semblance of defense on the other end, I would be thrilled.

38 MAX ABMAS PG, ORAL ROBERTS, SOPHOMORE Primary Attributes: shooting Age 20 | 6'1" | 165 Abmas was dominant all season for the Golden Eagles, averaging 24 ppg and 4 apg and shooting 43% from 3 with more than eight attempts per game. His dominant play in the NCAA Tournament -- 29 points against Ohio State and 26 points and seven assists against Florida -- made him a potential first-round or early second-round prospect. He has unlimited range on his jump shot and can get anywhere he wants to on the floor. His lack of elite size for his position and his score-first mentality limit his upside somewhat, but he’s a very intriguing prospect. Draft range: 25-45

Great getting to know another ORU reserve player, Ismael Plet, in this surprisingly well-done podcast, a UVA student-run production (though Ish is from the Netherlands, he was a high school star in Virginia).